148 Apps on Facebook 148 Apps on Twitter

Tag: Reference »

Guitar Companion Adds New Features

Posted by Kevin Stout on March 27th, 2012
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Infinaut Technologies has released its 3.0.0 update for guitar instruction app, Guitar Companion. The update includes the addition of various features including a metronome with four rhythm choices, drum packs (including rock, blues, jazz, and more), alternate chord fingering, custom skins, an ad-free option, and making the app available in 16 languages. Many of the updated features come from suggestions from users.

Guitar Companion is a tool for both pro and beginner guitarists. It can be a quick reference to the seasoned player or a source of learning for the new player. The app contains a tuner, chord charts (over 1600), and scales (over 150). The simple interface displays a guitar fret board that can manually be strummed to hear chords (or auto strummed for lazy players).

The app is free with in-app purchases including perks like the rhythm packs and removing ads. Check out the video demo of version 3.0.0 of Guitar Companion below.


The Skyrim Alchemy App Makes Mixing Potions (and Poisons) Much Easier

Posted by Rob Rich on December 14th, 2011
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a huge game. I'm talking massive. Vast, even. With a wealth of content and activities from procedurally generated quests to blacksmithing and enchanting, calling it a little complicated would be an understatement. Each of the side activities can be incredibly involved, but none so much as alchemy. There are a virtual ton of ingredients to combine, each one with four different effects, in order to craft all manner of helpful and hurtful concoctions.

It's a huge list of items to keep track of, which is why we now have the Skyrim Alchemy App. It includes a complete reference guide of all the many, many ingredients as well as their numerous functions. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of it as most of an ingredient's effects are unknown until they're discovered through mixing or ingesting. This way, a player can simply check the app to see what works with what rather than expending precious resources. A recipe book which will allow users to save and load their favorite mixtures is already in the works and should be available in a future update.

With the biggest western RPG of the year (both literally and figuratively) still in its release infancy, having a little extra help with some of the more menial tasks is welcome. With that in mind, Skyrim Alchemy App can be had right now for $0.99.

Doctor Who Encyclopedia Review

iPad App - Designed for iPad
By Jennifer Allen on November 7th, 2011
Our rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar :: COMPREHENSIVE-ISH
An encyclopaedic collection of all things Doctor Who.
Read The Full Review »

Photo Academy Review

iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
By Jennifer Allen on September 13th, 2011
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: COMPREHENSIVE
Photo Academy is a comprehensive guide to all things photography.
Read The Full Review »

Favorite Four: Reference Apps

Posted by Kevin Stout on June 29th, 2011

Using the iPhone and iPad as a tool to quickly lookup something (often to settle a bet!) is an often under-appreciated and useful feature (it's even the biggest folder on our homescreen for some of us!). While one can argue that a Wikipedia app or just using the browser is sufficient for looking up everything, a dedicated and specific reference app can't be beat in its category. So this week lists our favorite four reference apps.

iBartender
This app (which is surprisingly the #7 top paid iPhone reference app) is the ultimate companion for a bartender. iBartender is a simple enough app to explain, it’s one of those books that can be found behind a bar listing all kinds of alcoholic drinks no one knew existed. iBartender trumps all of those bar books with an easily browsable encyclopedia of drinks, a search feature, and the ability to save specific drinks as favorites. This app is a must-have for anyone, not just bartenders, looking to find and try out new drinks.

Wikipanion
It would be a horrible list of reference apps without a good Wikipedia app. While some of the best reference apps are dedicated to specific topics, Wikipanion is the goto app for all other topics and therefore a must-have for anyone who frequently uses Wikipedia. While it’s nothing complicated, Wikipanion provides a clean, quick-loading interface for Wikipedia on the iPhone and iPad.


Qwiki (iPad only)
Qwiki is definitely the most unique reference app in the App Store. Qwiki pulls information, pictures, and videos from various sources to create a multimedia experience for almost any topic imaginable. Qwiki might not be optimal to quickly look anything up, but it's definitely fun to browse the popular and daily Qwikis. It’s an awesome app to play around with and learn something in the process.

IMDB
The IMDB app is a clean and well-made app that provides an iOS experience for the popular movie database, IMDB.com. Get into an argument about a specific actor/actress in a specific movie or TV show? Whip out the iPhone and look it up on IMDB. The IMDB app is a great companion app to play around with while watching TV.

D-Day 1944 Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Jennifer Allen on June 14th, 2011
Our rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar :: EDUCATIONAL
D-Day 1944 offers an ideal introduction for children to a hugely important historical event. It is a little basic for others though.
Read The Full Review »

Sneak Up On Searches With Search Ninja

Posted by Jennifer Allen on May 12th, 2011

I've lost count of how many times a day I go to open an app just to search for something quickly. With apps devoted to Wikipedia, IMDb, Twitter, eBay and not forgetting Safari with the Google search bar, that's a lot of apps to consult. Many other people also have apps for Flickr, Last.fm, Dictionary themed apps and Amazon. Search Ninja has arrived to consolidate all of that in one quick and easy app.

It's an app entirely focused on speed (much like a ninja). As soon as it's opened, the iOS device keyboard is unveiled for quick access. Users can search everything from numerous search engines like Google and Bing, to Twitter, Wikipedia, IMDb, Amazon, Flickr, Google Places and more, with the ability to add extras if they so wish. Smart filtering helps along the way while a search history function means it's simple for users to check what they've done in the past.

Search Ninja is available now for $0.99 and could well be a great timesaver.

Read What You Want To Read Thanks to Zite

Posted by Jennifer Allen on May 3rd, 2011
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Zite is an iPad only app that reminds me just how desperately I need an iPad in my life. It's not the only app that offers a personalised magazine style interface but it does offer some pretty cool looking features for the grand price of nothing.

Using a variety of different sources, both mainstream and niche, Zite collects everything up and provides a truly personalised experience for your reading needs. An added bonus is that you can sync both Twitter and Google Reader with Zite to give you even more to consult.

An auto-suggest tool intelligently recommends some great ideas, customising things to your interests.

Plus there's the near obligatory ability to share content via Twitter, Facebook and email. Always handy if you want to let a friend know about something you've just read about.

Zite looks like a clean and useful app. One that'll keep up to date with your ever changing interests and needs. The ability to simply tap if you want to see more about a certain genre, or to 'like' the particular article so Zite remembers in future is a great and simple touch.

Zite is available now for the iPad.

Redshift Review

By Kyle Flanigan on October 14th, 2010
Redshift is an astronomy tool for the iPad, combining both the sky from Earth and the vast space above into an impressive application built for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.
Read The Full Review »

Terminology for iPad Review

iPad App - Designed for iPad
By Kyle Flanigan on September 7th, 2010
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: ELEGANT
Terminology is a dictionary and thesaurus application for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.
Read The Full Review »

Wolfram Alpha Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Chris Hall on April 13th, 2010
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: EXTENSIVE
If you haven't heard of Wolfram Alpha yet, read up... it's a pretty big deal. It is trying to "make it possible to compute whatever can be computed about anything".
Read The Full Review »

Pocket Reference

iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
By Jason Fanguy on March 16th, 2010
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: HANDY DANDY
Pocket Reference is a comprehensive list of alphabetized reference topics containing links to more than 500 reference websites. It allows users to find information regarding virtually anything and is alphabetically organized, giving users quick and easy a
Read The Full Review »

Loupe

iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
By Bonnie Eisenman on July 28th, 2009
Our rating: starstarstarblankstarblankstar :: LIMITED USE
Loupe is a simple and straightforward color-picking tool designed to help you keep track of "inspirational" or useful colors. Unfortunately, its already narrow audience might be turned off by its lack of additional features.
Read The Full Review »

Laptops

iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
By Christine Morris on May 18th, 2009
Our rating: starstarstarblankstarblankstar :: NICHE
This application lists all the Laptops that Apple have made starting from iBook in July 1999 - and going up to the PowerBook G4, 17" (2005). Why? Well I'm not sure you need this app, but I have to confess to looking & lusting over the laptops!
Read The Full Review »

WordDigest English Dictionary

iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
By Bonnie Eisenman on March 27th, 2009
Our rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: RECOMMENDED
WordDigest is a dictionary app with a huge database and a number of useful features, including bookmarking, browsing history, a thesaurus, and more. If you're looking for a solid dictionary, this is one to consider.
Read The Full Review »